Don’t shelve your love for kickboxing just because you’re away from your gym, the equipment, and training that comes with it. Working toward improving your practice at home is an awesome way to relieve stress and feel good.
Shadowboxing drills are great for practicing kickboxing at home when you don’t have the proper equipment on hand, Tommy Dibernardo, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the head trainer at RockBox Fitness, says.
If you are interested in creating an at-home gym, Dibernardo suggests purchasing either a punching bag, speed bag, or double-end bag along with some eight to 14-ounce gloves, for starters.
Either way, Dibernardo is supporting your dedication by offering up three tips for improving your kickboxing technique, below.
Related: 5 Kickboxing YouTube Workouts That’ll Make You Sweat
Improving Technique Can Help You Avoid Injury
According to Dibernardo, not using your core or rotating from the hips while kickboxing can result in injury.
Incorporating strength-training conditioning like squats, hamstring curls, and abductor exercises can provide a better foundation for your kickboxing moves by strengthening the hips. Any core movements, such as planks and oblique rotations, can help make for an easy fix, too, Dibernardo explains.
Footwork and Stance
When it comes to proper kickboxing footwork and stance, do not cross your feet or become staggered in a parallel position, Dibernardo says.
Ladder drills, shadowboxing rounds of three minutes at a time, and jumping rope are all great for improving footwork and speed, Dibernardo says.
Practice Your Hand Positioning
“We never drop our hands; they should return right between the ear and chin. Elbows are to stay tight to the body,” Dibernardo explains.
Working with a speed bag will teach you to keep your hands up while developing speed, while a double end bag will teach you to keep your hands up while punches are thrown at you, Dibernardo elaborates.
If you don’t have those tools on hand, band drills – where you keep your hands up and under a band (or suspended string) while ducking from one side to another in your boxing stance – can help, too.
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